I went to the ATT store and ask a store rep what difference will it make on where I buy the phone she mentioned that if I terminate early, Att charges me approx $300 and if I don't get a phone with them whoever I got the phone from (costco or Amazon or WalMart) will charge me an extra ETF of $365

The funny thing is the CSR on the phone said it doesn't make any difference where I buy the phone and I will only be in 1 contract which is ATT.

If you can try Sam's Club. From what I remember, my friend told me it was cheapest thereAnd you can ask ATT to price match lowest price you can find.. details here

sprof

Senior Member

posted: Oct. 4, 2012 @ 10:34a

If you don't plan on terminating early then buy from whoever you want.

sillar68

Member

posted: Oct. 4, 2012 @ 11:21a

Yes, third party retailers like Amazon, Costco, Sams, Best Buy, Wirefly, etc. do have an early termination fee (ETF)IN ADDITION TO the ETF from At&T. I assume they sell you the phone cheaper than the regular retail price because they get some cut of the monthly service you are paying for. If you terminate early, the profit goes down because you are not paying the monthly service anymore, so the ETF helps cover the lost profit (all my assumptions)

Take in to consideration what ever1 and sprof said above so you can get the best deal for YOUR NEEDS.

Dealpouncer

Thrifty Member

posted: Oct. 4, 2012 @ 1:29p

Having purchased from Wirefly(biggest online phone reseller) as well as Amazon, my memory is that if you do buy 3rd party the standard agreement was that if you terminate in the first 6 months of your contract then you have the extra ETF from the 3rd party clawback, otherwise, if you're planning to keep the contract at least 6 months, it would just be the ETF from AT&T as if you'd bought from them.

You can see Amazon's contracts for each carrier at this webpage. It covers the ETF's involved.

dealgain

Thrifty Member

posted: Oct. 4, 2012 @ 9:24p

The extra ETF applies only for the first 6 months - there after you only have ATT's ETF.

Geckogod2

Member

posted: Oct. 4, 2012 @ 10:02p

At that price for an ETF and the price of the phone, Just buy it outright ($199 + $300 =$499 vs. $549.99) that way once you are done with credits, you aren't under contract and you are free to do whatever you want with the phone. As long as you have WiFi, you could Skype and do tons of other stuff with it. You could even sell it at that point. If you buy it outright, ATT store is cheapest. If still going after contract, best buy has it for $149.99.

I bought four new phones from Costco this summer (Samsung Galaxy SIII). Their vendor is Wireless Advocates. There is NO ADDITIONAL EARLY TERMINATION FEE. I read the agreements, nothing. And the site shows the fees and they are carrier ETFs (see below). Also, I found the experience very good. I got the phones for $199 (upgrade pricing), with a kit containing bluetooth headset, 3 in 1 charger, screen protectors (not needed), belt holster (ok, bought a better one), leather case for carrying in purse. And a $25 rebate. A few weeks later while experimenting with NFC tags, we found that one of the phones' NFC didn't work. Swapped batteries, it worked fine (battery has NFC antenna built-in). Emailed them, new battery sent via 2-day without question. I'd recommend them.

How much will I be charged if I cancel my wireless service?AT&T:

AT&T gives all customers a 30 day (from date of purchase) trial period to try out the service without incurring an early termination fee. If the service is canceled after the 30 day trial period, AT&T will charge the subscriber an early termination fee per line of service as follows:

Advanced Handset: $325 Early Termination Fee (Fee will be reduced by $10 for each full month completed toward the minimum term of the contract) Note: Visit www.att.com/equipment for details on AT&T handset types.

Standard Handset: $150 Early Termination Fee (Fee will be reduced by $4 for each full month completed toward the minimum term of the contract) Note: Visit www.att.com/equipment for details on AT&T handset types.

Sprint gives all customers a 14 day (from date of purchase) trial period to try out the service without incurring an early termination fee. If the service is canceled after the 14 day trial period, Sprint will charge the subscriber an early termination fee per line of service. Customers will be responsible for an early termination fee of up to $350 ("ETF") for each line/number terminated early.

Verizon:

You can try out our service for 14 days. Verizon Wireless gives all customers a 14 day (from date of purchase) trial period to try out the phone and Verizon service without incurring an early termination fee. If the service is canceled after the 14 day trial period, Verizon will charge the subscriber an early termination fee per line of service as follows:

Advanced Handset: $350 Early Termination Fee (Fee will be reduced by $10 for each full month completed toward the minimum term of the contract) Note: Visit www.verizonwireless.com/advanceddevices for details on Verizon handset types.

Standard Handset: $175 Early Termination Fee (Fee will be reduced by $5 for each full month completed toward the minimum term of the contract) Note: Visit www.verizonwireless.com/advanceddevices for details on Verizon handset types.

T-Mobile gives all customers a 14 day* (from date of purchase) trial period to try out the phone and T-Mobile service without incurring an early termination fee. If the service is canceled after the 14 day trial period, T-Mobile will charge the subscriber an early termination fee per line of service as follows:

*For California customers there is 30 day (from date of purchase) trial period to try out the phone and T-Mobile service without incurring an early termination fee.

$200.00 if service is canceled with more than 180 days remaining on the term$100.00 if service is canceled with 91 to 180 days remaining on the term$50.00 if service is canceled with 31 to 90 days remaining on the term$50.00 or the monthly recurring charges, whichever is less, if service is canceled within the last 30 days of the termBased on carrier, changes and additional fees may be applied. Visit your carriers website for details.

websquirrel

Handsome Member

posted: Oct. 5, 2012 @ 12:33p

pietromoon said: wait for s5

You're wasting an upgrade if you go for the S5. S7 is going to blow the S5 out of the water.

brreddy

New Member

posted: Oct. 5, 2012 @ 5:55p

Bought at Best buy. They did price match to Amazon which is 139.99 Price at BB is 149.99 Reason I bought at BB is the lowest data plan of $20 could be added unlike at Amazon where they wanted me to take $30 data plan.

henry33

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Oct. 5, 2012 @ 9:50p

If you can wait another 7 weeks, Sprint is supposed to have this on sale for $49 on Black Friday. Other vendors will probably price match them as we get closer to that date.

itsmeprinceus

Happy Member

posted: Oct. 5, 2012 @ 11:02p

I just placed an order on Costco ... They said they have a 90 day price match policy which will take me straight through the thanksgiving deals ... they said they can offer a one time price match which I will wait till the 89th day or when the best deal hits the market.

Thanks y'all for the great advice !!

kkarthick

New Member

posted: Nov. 3, 2012 @ 10:02p

I have the same dilemma.... S3 with ATT at Amazon costs 99$ + 36$ activation vs Costco at $149 (no activation fee + accessory kit).. With thanksgiving round the corner, looking for some suggestions.. Does Costco still outweigh other deals?

jamesdlloyd

New Member

posted: Nov. 15, 2012 @ 4:06p

Just got back from Costco where I purchased two Galaxy SIII phones at $129.99 per phone plus an AT&T activation fee of $36 per phone. I am a long time AT&T Service holder so I might petition AT&T to consider that and drop the activation charge. I am told it might be worth the effort but I might have to be persistent to be successful in getting these fees negated.. I was told that there is a one time price adjustment (price guarantee) from Costco that only goes for 30 days which will get me past Black Friday pricing. However if the Amazon price is $99 right now perhaps I should have presented that to Costco up front. Hmmm!

denny7013

New Member

posted: Dec. 20, 2012 @ 8:56p

Costco has the S3 priced today at $129.99.

dealslover007

Addicted Member

posted: Dec. 26, 2012 @ 9:35a

Just got my bill today. Activation charged for both lines. I purchased it at Costco during thanksgiving for $30 after rebate Any light on how to get the activation fee waived?

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